Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Iron Flame

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

47 reviews

spootilious's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

Read: November 29, 2023
Title: Iron Flame

Series: The Empyrean #2

Author: Rebecca Yarros

Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Rating: 1.5 / 5
Review:

Let me start by saying, I’ve been trying…. SO HARD… to like this book and I just… Can’t.

I didn’t care much for the first either, but I’ve been hoping that the series will redeem itself… so far that has not happened.

Did I enjoy reading the book? I suppose so. Is the book good? Absolutely not.

There are two issues more than anything that stand out before I simply provide a list of what I liked and did not like about the book: 1. Yarros seriously needs to find an editor the writing is just terrible! And 2. There is ZERO originality in the series.

Okay… Onto the list of this I liked:
1. The story concept is a good one. And if another author (a skilled one) had written this story I’m sure I would have LOVED it.

2. I like Dragons.

Onto the list of things I didn’t like:

1. I don’t think Yarros understand that in order to build the climax of a story you have to have a consistent baseline that is lower than the climax itself. If the punches never stop then the ‘final blow’ won’t feel any different than the first 100 jabs. There is absolutely zero downtime between ‘big’ events throughout this book and thus the ending (and everything really) wasn’t memorable in the least. Yarros didn’t get herself space to build on when she set the base line on the same level as the climax of the book. Honestly, I’ve never read an author who wasn’t self aware enough (or skilled enough… whatever the case may be) to realize this and it’s EXTREMELY disappointing.

2. Almost all the characters (minus a small handful) weren’t memberable and very flat. I can’t even remember all of Violet’s squad members… I might be able to name… 3? And that’s after the merge. All the characters are 1 dimensional and unremarkable… Too many names not enough characters.

3. As mentioned in the things that I liked, the story is good. Which is a problem because Yarros isn’t. It makes the story disproportionate to the author’s skill level. Which is nothing against Yarros, no one starts off skilled, but when your story is better than your abilities it causes problems.

4. This, like Fourth Wing, felt like a young adult novel wanting to be adult by adding sex and violence. Not a good mix.

5. The main character is EXTREMELY hypocritical, expecting so much from so many people when she does the same exact things with no consequences.

6. There is no real character development for any of the main characters.

7. Violet once again gets away with EVERYTHING with practically no consequences, and conveniently finds the solution to all their problems every time just in time. (superman syndrome) Which is amusing considering this isn’t a ‘chosen one’ series.

8. The pacing is TERRIBLE. Which goes back to the whole jab jab punch thing. All jabs… no punches.

9. Every female character in this series are defined by male characters, with the exception of maybe 2 (Mira and Ri which are in the background).

10. Yarros keeps telling the reader how smart and strong and unique violet is but violets actions never really show it. She always has to be saved or comes to these big epiphanies when guided but not on her own. She doesn’t stand out.

11. Toxic relationship(s) on both (and every) side

12. So repetitive both in dialog and plot points.

13. The hole book felt like a scramble to try and fill in every plot hole found in book 1 while ignoring all the ones in book 2. Which means book 3 will probably be the same.

14. Honestly the entire novel felt like a regurgitated version of Twilight but with Dragons.

15. Which brings us back to the first issue of being completely unoriginal.

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sierrabowers's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

At no point during the reading of this book did I know or anticipate what was going to happen until it was actually happening! Rebecca Yarros had twists and turns weaved into this sequel from the very beginning! It almost felt like two different stories from the first half to the second half as the characters transitioned to a new location. Towards the end of the story is where things got interesting and the ending was just insane! I had no idea it would be so mind boggling and now it has me wondering what the third book will bring! And we will have to wait so long for its release!!!! AHH. The only thing I did not like about this book was the tension/arguing between Violet and Xaden. The arguing was straight out of a bad romance novel and there was no reason for the miscommunication and conflict they were having other than to bring another plot point into the story. It was painful to read their dumb arguments, but I still give this book a 5 stars because of how blown away I am!!!

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katvou's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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ameliedj's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Yes. I'm all for that ending! I struggled to get through the first 200 pages, but from then on the story really picked up for me. I also like Violet's character growth in this book, I like her more and more (didn't really care for her in Fourth Wing). Especially the last 100 pages or so!
For me the smut was unnecessary and a bit problematic (can't believe I'm saying this) and Xaden gave me so many bad vibes.

For me Xaden almost instantly changed from my ultimate book boyfriend to a guy with way too many red flags and way too many issues. I hated all his love declarations and his unhealthy obsession with Violet. Almost everything he said or did made me uncomfortable. So I would love to see him become a villain and for their love story to wither and die.

I'm very excited for the third book!

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maggies's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Where Fourth Wing set up the world and characters of the series, Iron Flame significantly expanded these. Like, doubled+. Wish we'd had a character list to reference, including

gryphons and fliers

because your girl was lost. I still don't know/remember who half the dragons and their riders are! I've rated Iron Flame lower than Fourth Wing because there were small plot moments I didn't like, but overall, I think (hope) that it'll be a good bridge to the rest of the series. There are so many places it can go now!

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brandywyne's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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zanazy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I binged read this immediately after the midnight party so full disclosure I may have missed things. Overall, this a decent follow up to Fourth Wing. The story picks up immediately after the ending of the previous book and while we get some answers, I am left with more questions, frustrations, and slight disappointment with the main character’s arc.

Brennan is alive, so is his dragon. I re-read FW and both are dead as far as Violet knows in that book. Interesting his dragon is alive, meaning all the dragons hid that. The relationship between Violet and Brennan is not fully hashed out, but they are neutral-close. I didn’t get too much about it from the story. Brennan plays a somewhat larger role in this book, but his ranking in the rebellion leadership is confusing.

Xaden and Violet’s relationship is “fixed” rather too easily, with both swapping roles and Xaden being the one not wanting intimacy without hearing Violet say I love you. Meanwhile, Violet wants him to say it. Honestly, for how much I loved them in book 1, everything between them fell flat this book.

My favorite parts of the book are everything to do with the dragons. Andarna, Tairn, Sgaeyl… all of the, add so much and they have their story within the story. Sgaeyl and Tairn’s relationship even mirrors and rivals what Xaden and Violet have. Another big like is Cam/Aaric, the King’s son. We don’t get too much, but he is setup to play a key role and fill the void Violet feels after losing Liam.

The low points for me were everything dealing with the gryphon riders. It felt like filler content and took up way too much of the book even though they play almost no role in the end conflict. The Dain arc was too rushed & we get no follow up or depth which I think was needed. The ending conflict also feels very rushed, especially with how much info we get & how much impact it has on everyone and everything. Sloane was a let down. Her character could use more development, especially because I think she will be key in future books. I would much rather take out the gryphon details and get more time to the characters mentioned above.

Overall, still enjoyable, but lacks a bit in pace, story, and development compared to Fourth Wing. Book 3 will definitely make or break this series.

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